I’m former Tennis Channel presenter who is now playing in the Wimbledon quarter-final… commentary made me who I am
CHRIS EUBANKS has enjoyed a stunning tournament at Wimbledon.
The American – currently ranked No.43 in the world – has made an unexpected run into the quarter-finals, having previously never made it beyond the Round of 16 at any Grand Slam.
And he shocked the world when eliminating Wimbledon fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas yesterday, having also previously knocked out Brit Cameron Norrie two rounds prior.
However, the 27-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, has put his success down to an unlikely factor.
As recent as last year, Eubanks worked as a tennis commentator for the Tennis Channel in order to support his career.
He had been struggling for years to break into the Top 100, but since picking up a microphone, he has seen his fortunes on court transform, winning his first ATP title in Mallorca earlier this year.
And Eubanks believes his time spent as a commentator has helped him to improve his game.
As quoted by The Tennis Podcast, he explained: “I think I would have given myself a pretty good grade.
“[Doing commentary] has really helped my perception on the court.
“I can take a little bit of emotion out and say ‘hey if I were watching this match and calling it, what would I be telling myself?’
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“And stop getting so emotionally charged when things don’t go my way… I might make errors, or make mistakes.
“If I’m in the booth I can say ‘hey that’s a good error, that’s ok, that’s going to pay off in the long run.’
“So I think commentary really helped my ability to watch the match and play it to a style.”
So much for “commentator’s curse”.
Eubanks will be facing No.3 seed Daniil Medvedev on Court 1 on Wednesday.
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